The invention relates to a process, of the type disclosed in DE-19650875, for sorting mailings having different properties using sorting machinery that sense the distribution information located on the mailings.
In the sorting of mailings, usually sorting machines which do not cover the entire spectrum of mailings to be processed with regard to size and weight (or other properties) are used. For instance, letter mailings are sorted on special letter-sorting machines, which are characterized by an extremely high capacity and a large number of separating operations, and large letters, parcels and packages are sorted by other machines, specifically designed for the respective spectrum of items. There are problems here in the following aspects:
Typically, different levels of sorting are achieved for the different classes of mailing, for example, letters are sorted, to a very fine degree, to the route sequence, whereas large letters are sorted only to an approximate degree, to the mail carrier, which has manual re-sorting as a consequence. One of the reasons for this is that, owing to the size of large letters, parcels and packages, sorting machines for a high number of separating operations, as in the case of letters, would be much too large and complex. PA1 The delivery of mailings to the recipient is typically performed not by separate mail carriers, but together, that is to say the mailings of different mailing classes must be brought together again for delivery. This also requires laborious manual processing. PA1 processable spectrum of mailings (dimensions, weight, material, flexibility . . . ); PA1 number and capacity of the separating operations (for example large number of small compartments, small number of large compartments); PA1 dimensions of the machines (compact designs for small spaces, large machines for example for packages); PA1 additional functions (setting upright, aligning, canceling postage stamps etc.) PA1 special sorting strategies (for example route-sequence sorting in a number of machine runs). PA1 In the outgoing post office the mailings are mechanically sorted for the first time, with the recipient addresses being scanned, and the addressees automatically determined by means of an OCR (Optical Character Reader) reader or by video coding, and with this distribution information being applied to the surface of the mailing in the form of a code. The sorting level is chosen such that sorting in the outgoing office can be performed appropriately for the incoming office or for a sorting plan within the incoming office. PA1 The mailings are then transported to the incoming office. PA1 In the incoming office, the mailings are mechanically sorted once again, to be precise to a sorting level which identifies the mail carrier. PA1 there is no longer any need to procure sorting machines for fine sorting for specific spectra of items; PA1 there is no longer any need for manual fine sorting of larger items; PA1 there is no longer any need for mixing stacks of fine-sorted mailings of different spectra of items to form a stack of fine-sorted mailings of a number of spectra of items, PA1 or this comprises part of the process described and is made considerably easier by the marking. PA1 1. The mailings which cannot be processed and the assigned substitutes may also have different ID markings. As a result, reusable substitutes provided with ID markings can be used. PA1 2. After the sorting operation, the mail carrier, for example, takes a substitute at random from the sorted stack of mailings, reads the printed-on ID marking and takes from the stack of non-processable mailings, advantageously ordered according to ID markings, the mailing with the same ID marking or the ID marking of the assigned mailing if they have different ID markings, which he has determined by means of an inquiry to the machine control system, in which the assignments are stored.
A large number of machines for sorting mailings, which differ in particular in one or more of the following characteristics, are known:
The distribution of mailings in a distribution system with the aid of sorting machines generally takes place in a multistage operation. For instance, the Post Office handles mailings as follows
To save the mail carrier additional sorting to delivery points, an automatic route-sequence sorting may also be performed.
Large letters are, for example, processed separately from the letters on other machines, to be precise in the same steps but not to the maximum sorting level with the route sequence.
There is a known process in which cards provided with machine-readable and visually readable code numbers are arranged in an issuing box between order bags, which bear machine-readable order numbers. In this case, however, the cards serve only as separating cards between order bags of different order groups, the order numbers of the order bags of this group, read in by machine, being assigned to the read-in separating-card numbers by a computer. If a customer comes with a specific order number, the order bag with the same order number no longer has to be laboriously found in the stack, but instead the number of the card behind which, and optionally at which point, the bag sought is located is output by the computer (see, e.g., DE 44 07 559 A1).
Furthermore, according to DE 34 23 514 A1, in a sorting process for film slides, easily identifiable dummy slides are used for marking the boundaries between groups of slides sorted according to any desired classification.
However, this printed document does not disclose any suggestion of the automatic sorting of different mailings by sorting machines which are suitable for only one type of mailing.
The invention is thus based on the object of providing a process which accomplishes a sorting of different mailings with the aid of sorting machines which are suitable only for one specific type of mailing. In particular, mailings having different properties are to be sorted to the maximum sorting level, for example route-sequence sorting for the mail carrier.